Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) will develop private
islands around the world that will be marketed in a new "Perfect Day
Island Collection."
The program will start with the upcoming relaunch of Bahamian
private island CocoCay in September.
Few other details of the initiative were released, other
than RCCL expects to include islands in Asia, Australia and the Caribbean.
CocoCay's Thrill water park will have an aquatic obstacle course for kids.
The program was unveiled at an event at New York's South Street
Seaport on Wednesday. RCCL also announced a $900 million,10-ship refurbishment
program and for the first time unveiled details of the improvements it has
planned for CocoCay.
RCCL said it spent $200 million to renew the island, which
it acquired in 1988. Guests will find a pair of water towers with 13 slides,
including the 135-foot Daredevil's Peak, which RCCL says will be the tallest in
North America.
The Thrill water park will also include the Caribbean's
largest wave pool and a "kid-friendly obstacle course pool." The Oasis
Lagoon, billed as "the Caribbean's largest freshwater pool," will
feature a swim-up bar, in-pool loungers and a 1,600-foot zipline with a water
landing.
Another new attraction: Up, Up and Away, a helium balloon that
will soar up to 450 feet to provide a bird's-eye view of the blue Bahamian
waters.
Royal Caribbean said the 135-foot Daredevil's Peak will be the tallest water slide in North America.
The beach areas are being redone. RCCL said Chill Island
will be "the ultimate beach escape" with cabanas, daybeds and lots of
activities such as volleyball, glass-bottom kayaking and zorbing
in an inflatable zorb ball.
A more upscale venue, Coco Beach Club, will offer what RCCL
says are the first overwater cabanas in the Bahamas.
The current timetable calls for some of the features to open
in September with the majority open by spring of 2019 and Coco Beach Club by
November 2019.
The Up, Up and Away helium balloon will give riders a bird's-eye view of CocoCay.
The schedule means that the new pier at CocoCay won't be
ready when the 3,114-passenger Mariner of the Seas begins its short-cruise
assignment from Miami in late June. RCCL is spending $90 million to make over
the Mariner as a showpiece short-cruise ship.
RCCL initially expected the pier to be ready in June. Guests
now use tenders to get to the island, but Mariner of the Seas carries 30% to
50% more passengers than the ships that currently use CocoCay.
In 2019, Navigator of the Seas will become the second Voyager-class
ship to be moved to three- and four-day cruises and receive "an even more
extensive modernization" than the Mariner.
The upscale Coco Beach Club will feature overwater cabanas.
RCCL said it has budgeted $900 million for a refurbishment
program that covers 10 ships over the next four years. The program, dubbed "Royal
Amplified," is a follow-on to the 2011-2016 "Royal Advantage"
refurbishment of most Royal Caribbean ships.
New features on the Mariner will be mainstays of the Royal Amplified
upgrade package. They include Sky Pad, a virtual reality bungee trampoline;
Battle for Planet Z, a glow-in-the-dark laser tag game; The Bamboo Room, a
retro lounge with tiki‐chic decor;
and the Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade.
The Oasis Lagoon's large pool will have a swim-up bar and in-pool loungers.
Other parts of the package include the New England-style
Hooked Seafood and El Loco Fresh, a Mexican restaurant.
In addition to the two Voyager-class ships, Royal Caribbean specified
Independence of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas as among the first ships to get
the Royal Amplified treatment.
UPDATE: This report was updated with the correct spelling of CocoCay.